It depends on your geography/location and how inflated your grades are. I.E. Rural school students who make 90’s would make 60’s in more urban centres. I graduated with honors and no idea how to write an essay. I got into university, but it was hell once I sat down surrounded by other students who were much more ahead of me in terms of academic formatting. Attending a rural school set me back when I launched myself in the bigger pools.
It’s a matter of time. Some people learn and remember the first time they hear or see something. Most people need help to understand something unfamiliar. Some people need lots of repetition to make any sense of a new concept. I’ve seen lower-intelligence students work very hard and out-perform average-intelligence students. I’ve also seen lots of average-intelligence students who are lazy, and eventually, they hit a wall. They don’t have the learning skills to overcome a challenge. Even high-intelligence students can hit a wall if they don’t have the patience and persistence to use their intellect.
Grades are a measure of work and work ethic. But gifted kids can skip steps.
How do we define doing well? Above average? Educated to a certain minimal standard we expect of a typical member of society? Excellence?
Yes. At least with k-12 schooling. After that, you’ve got to have something to help you. It could be drive, interest, etc., but there is more than one way to be “intelligent.”
“smartness” and “intelligence” are extremely subjective. Anyone can get through school, it’s more so about dedication, studying, and hard work than it is about raw knowledge. Edit: I was just suggested this on my feed, I’m not a member in here and I assumed this was about college. Based on other comments, this is about K-12. Ignore me!
No, if you have like a 90IQ and work hard you’ll do better than 75-80% of students.
Hudson said:
No, if you have like a 90IQ and work hard you’ll do better than 75-80% of students.
I don’t buy this. Those 10 IQ points are a major deficit. I’ve been teaching for 25 years.
@JimGreenfield
10IQ is less than a standard deviation from the mean. A person with 90 IQ working really hard is going to get better grades than someone with 100 IQ who is lazy and does the bare minimum. Now if they both really tried hard, I’d bet with standard public school stuff they wouldn’t be much different. If they both didn’t try very hard, that’s where I think you’d see the 100 IQ person pull ahead.
@Hudson
Lower IQ is highly correlated with unregulated and criminal behavior. A majority of incarcerated felons have a below average IQ, mostly in the 80-90 range.
Not in school, but in real life, yes. For most of us, the even more confusing or concerning thing, is someone who you thought was ‘dumb’ (i.e. only average) in school, being incredibly successful in real life. (some of them are psychopaths - I’m not sure what the solution is)
Definitely not anymore. Also effort and hard work go a long way
Should grades measure how hard a student works or how much of the material they master? If the grading is set up so that grades are more in line with achievement on assessments, it’s pretty tough to “well” if you’re average. If grading is set up so that someone can “work” hard enough, then they can get grades of mostly A and B while only having a tenuous grasp on mastering the content.
No. You need hustle.
Yes, some people are dumb as rocks and so we invented emotional intelligence to make them feel better, but even that didn’t work because emotionally they were in a fugue state. Toss them a broom and some furniture wipes
The object ‘to do well in school’ is usually understanding what is expected from the teacher/professor and tailoring your academic product to their liking.
When I worked, I ran into people all the time who were not too bright, but were very well-educated and could perform more difficult tasks than you would expect if you talked to them. Nearly every single one of them went to a Catholic school - learning the material was not optional.
I know plenty of people that are as dumb as a bag of nickels and also have degrees.
No. Effort can cover a LOT.
Effort is a factor, and some people are good at specific things but terrible at others. I am dyslexic but really good at logic and majored in computer science. But intelligence makes everything easier.